Awards and trips
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2020:
Several members of Baj Theatre team received a well-deserved Medal for Long Service, granted by the Deputy Governor of Mazovia, Artur Standowicz, on behalf of the President of the Republic of Poland. The Gold Medal for Long service was awarded to: Krystyna Kałuska, Wojciech Kasiak, Ewa Kłusek and Lucjan Witczak. The Silver Medal for Long Service was awarded to: Łukasz Kuczyński.
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2019:
Wyróżnienie dla spektaklu „Minutka” według scenariusza Malwiny Czekaj, Izabeli Zachowicz i Marka Zimakiewicza, pod opieką reżyserską Ewy Piotrowskiej na X Festiwalu Teatrów Ożywionej Formy Maskarada w Rzeszowie.
‘The Little Book’ (directed by Elżbieta Bieda and Marek Zimakiewicz) was voted the best show during the third day of the VIRVAR Puppet Theatre Festival in Koszyce.
‘A Minute’ (screenplay: Malwina Czekaj, Izabela Zachowicz and Marek Zimakiewicz; directorial guidance: Ewa Piotrowska) received the following awards at the 26th SPOTKANIA International Puppet Theatre Festival in Toruń: Honourable Mention by the Professional Jury for the creators of the show, the award for the best show for children granted by the Children’s Jury, and awards for the art of the puppet animation for Malwina Czekaj, Izabela Zachowicz and Marek Zimakiewicz granted by the Jan Wilkowski Acting Award Jury.
In 2019, at the 23rd KORCZAK International Festival of Theatres for Children and Young People, ‘A Minute’ was awarded the Certificate of High Quality and High Artistic Level of the Polish branch of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People ASSISTEJ. It also received an Honourable Mention by both the adult and youth juries.
Baj Theatre staged ‘Timothy Among Birds’ (directed by Arkadiusz Klucznik) at the invitation of the Oława Art Centre.
At the 34th edition of the Contemporary Art Days in Białystok, we were invited to perform the show ‘A Polite Little Girl’ (directed by Maria Żynel).
In 2019, Baj Theatre took part in the Children’s Day festivities in Warsaw (‘Warszawa Dzieciom – Warszawski Dzień Energii 2019’) and presented a musical show called ‘Bardzo Duży Dom plays
We performed ‘Me, Maluch and the Sea’ (directed by Marek Zakostelecki) in the Oława Art Centre.
In 2019, we organised a preview of the show ‘Mum’ (created and performed by Hanna Kinder-Kiss) at the GAŠPARIÁDA International Traditional Puppet Theatre Festival in Nitra, Slovakia.
The show ‘Mum’ (created and performed by Hanna Kinder-Kiss) was then premiered on the 12th July 2019 at the 4th LALKA NA SCENIE International Street Theatre Festival.
Baj Theatre performed at the ‘Ricca Ricca *Festa’ International Threatre Festival on the Okinawa Island in Japan. We presented two shows: ‘The Little Book’ (directed by Elżbieta Bieda and Marek Zimakiewicz), addressed to the youngest children, and ‘A Minute’ (screenplay: Malwina Czekaj, Izabela Zachowicz and Marek Zimakiewicz; directorial guidance: Ewa Piotrowska), addressed to older children. This trip was co-financed by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Poland and Japan.
‘A Minute’ was staged in Białystok as one of the events organised within the project ‘The Rise of Eastern Culture/Another Dimension’ (‘Wschód Kultury/Inny Wymiar’).
We travelled to Lithuania to present the show ‘If You Don’t Say It, Who Will Know?’ (directed by Ewa Piotrowska) as part of the project ‘Traces—continuation’ (‘Ślady – kontynuacja’) organised and financed within the grant programme ‘Cultural Bridges’ (‘Kulturalne Pomosty’) of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. We performed at the National Puppet Theatre in Kaunas and in the House of Polish Culture (in partnership with Lėlė Theatre from Vilnius).
We presented two of our shows, ‘The Little Book’ and ‘A Minute’, at the Polish Theatre Days in Luxembourg.
We performed ‘The Diary of Plastuś, the Plasticine Boy’ (directed by Lech Chojnacki) in Šalčininkai, Lithuania, at the Polish Theatre Days.
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2018:
We won a Special Award for Theatre Art Development for the Youth at the 20th GOLDEN SPARKLE International Puppet Theatre Festival in Kragujevac, Serbia, for ‘The Little Book’ (directed and performed by Elżbieta Bieda and Marek Zimakiewicz).
Baj Theatre was invited to Soy Festival! in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where our actors performed ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ by Wolf Erlbruch (directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz).
‘The Little Book’ (directed by Elżbieta Bieda and Marek Zimakiewicz) was staged during the 20th GOLDEN SPARKLE International Puppet Theatre Festival in Kragujevac, Serbia.
Baj Theatre was invited to the 9th MASKARADA Festival of Animated Forms organised by Maska Theatre in Rzeszów to present the show ‘In the Circle’ by Krystyna Miłobędzka (directed by Sebastian Świąder).
In October 2018, Baj Theatre launched a project called ‘Traces’ (‘Ślady’) and presented the show ‘If You Don’t Say It, Who Will Know?’ directed by Ewa Piotrowska in several puppet theatres in Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary. We performed at the following theatres: Bábkové divadlo in Košice, Divadlo Loutek in Ostrava and Mesebolt Bábszínház in Szombathely. The project was financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the multiannual programme ‘Independent’ (‘Niepodległa’) for the years 2017–2021 within the grant programme ‘Cultural Bridges’ (‘Kulturalne Pomosty’) of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2017:
Malwina Czekaj, a Baj Theatre actress, won the Leon Schiller Award for theatrical accomplishments granted by the Association of Polish Stage Artists (ZASP) for various roles including that of the Mayor in the show ‘Oh, My Chucolate!’ directed by Ewa Piotrowska.
In 2017, at the MASKARADA Festival of Animated Forms in Rzeszów, Baj Theatre won a Special Award for saving and nurturing the metaphysics, sacrum, spirituality and a separate time dimension in the show ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz.
Albert Roca Macià, a photographer who works with Baj Theatre, received a Special Award at the 2nd edition of the Theatrical Photography Contest for his portfolio from the show ‘The Little Book’.
Baj Theatre was invited to the 27th Polish Puppet Theatre Festival held in the Puppet and Actor Theatre in Opole, where we presented ‘The Little Book’, a show for the youngest audiences directed by Elżbieta Bieda and Marek Zimakiewicz.
Baj Theatre performed the show ‘In the Circle’ by Krystyna Miłobędzka (directed by Sebastian Świąder) at the 21st DO ŚMIECHU Children’s Art Biennale in the Children’s Art Centre in Poznań.
We had the opportunity to spend three weeks at The Amber Theatre in Shenzhen, China, which was a very important and meaningful experience for our team. Our actors performed two of our shows there: ‘The Little Book’ (directed by Elżbieta Bieda and Marek Zimakiewicz) and ‘A Kitchen Full of Surprises’ (directed by Marta Gryko-Sokołowska).
The show ‘If You Don’t Say It, Who Will Know?’ by Berta Hiriart (directed by Ewa Piotrowska) was staged during a tour of south-eastern Poland in Zamość, Chełm and Lublin as part of the project ‘The Story of the Children from Santa Rosa—A Continuation’ (‘Historia dzieci z Santa Rosa – kontynuacja‘) co-financed by the Polish History Museum within the project ‘The Patriotism of Tomorrow’ (‘Patriotyzm Jutra’).
We were guests at the Muza Cultural Centre in Lublin, where we presented ‘The Adventures of Filemon the Cat’ by Sławomir Grabowski and Marek Nejman (directed by Agata Kucińska) and ‘Where’s the Baby? There’s the Baby!’ (directed by Andrzej Bocian).
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2016:
HENRYK Award for Ewa Piotrowska, director of Baj Theatre, granted by the Puppet Theatre Section of the Association of Polish Stage Artists (ZASP) for her outstanding achievements in the art of puppet theatre.
KOT W WORKU Award for Elżbieta Bieda and Marek Zimakiewicz for the show ‘The Little Book’ at the 20th KORCZAK International Festival of Theatres for Children and Young People.
Honourable Mention from the Junior Jury for the show ‘The Little Book’ (according to the diploma—‘for everything’) at the 20th KORCZAK International Festival of Theatres for Children and Young People.
Award for Mateusz Dębski in the category ‘Music’ for the show ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ at the 23rd SPOTKANIA International Puppet Theatre Festival in Baj Pomorski Theatre in Toruń.
Honourable Mention for the plastic art in the show ‘The Little Book’ at the 23rd SPOTKANIA International Puppet Theatre Festival in Baj Pomorski Theatre in Toruń.
Baj Theatre presented ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ by Wolf Erlbruch (directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz) in Minsk, Belarus, at the 9th International Puppet Theatre Festival organised by the National Belarussian Puppet Theatre.
‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ by Wolf Erlbruch (directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz) was staged during the 23rd International Children’s Theatre Festival in Subotica, Serbia.
The shows ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ and ‘The Little Book’ were presented during the 23rd SPOTKANIA International Puppet Theatre Festival in Baj Pomorski Theatre in Toruń.
We were invited to the Children’s Art Centre in Poznań, where we performed ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ by Wolf Erlbruch (directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz).
The show ‘If You Don’t Say It, Who Will Know?’ by Berta Hiriart (directed by Ewa Piotrowska) was presented during a tour of north-eastern Poland in Olsztyn, Grajewo and Białystok as part of the project ‘The Story of the Children from Santa Rosa’ (‘Historia dzieci z Santa Rosa’).
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2015:
Upon request of the pupils from the School for Children with Disabilities no 102 in Międzylesie, the International Committee awarded Ewa Piotrowska, director of Baj Theatre, the Order of the Smile. The Decoration was officiated by the Chancellor of the Committee, Marek Michalak, The Ombudsman for Children. The number of the Order is 979.
3rd place for the show ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz at the 27th Polish Puppet Theatre Festival in Opole.
Professor Władysław Jarema Award granted by the Association of Polish Stage Artists (ZASP) for Elżbieta Bielińska for the puppet animation in ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ at the 27th Polish Puppet Theatre Festival in Opole.
Professor Władysław Jarema Award granted by the Association of Polish Stage Artists (ZASP) for Małgorzata Suzuki for the puppet animation in ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ at the 27th Polish Puppet Theatre Festival in Opole.
Award for Mateusz Dębski in the category ‘Music’ for the show ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ at the 27th Polish Puppet Theatre Festival in Opole.
ZŁOCISTY Grand Prix for the best show at the 19th KORCZAK International Festival of Theatres for Children and Young People for the performance of ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz.
Certificate of High Quality and High Artistic Level from the Polish branch of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People ASSITEJ for ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz.
GRAND PRIX for the best show at the 12th KATOWICE-DZIECIOM International Puppet Theatre Festival for the performance of ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz.
Award for Elżbieta Bielińska granted by the Silesian branch of the Association of Polish Stage Artists (ZASP) for the animation in the show ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ at the 12th KATOWICE-DZIECIOM International Puppet Theatre Festival.
Award for Małgorzata Suzuki granted by the Silesian branch of the Association of Polish Stage Artists (ZASP) for the animation in the show ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ at the 12th KATOWICE-DZIECIOM International Puppet Theatre Festival.
Baj Theatre performed the show ‘Where’s the Baby? There’s the Baby!’ addressed to the youngest children and directed by Andrzej Bocian at the 21st Theatrical Encounters for Children organised by the Musical Theatre in Gliwice.
Baj Theatre presented the show ‘If You Don’t Say It, Who Will Know?’ directed by Ewa Piotrowska at the 2nd Festival of First Performances organised by the Puppet and Actor Theatre in Wałbrzych.
In 2015, Baj Theatre travelled to Moscow to take part in the Gavroshe Festival. We staged two shows for the Russian audience: ‘A Kitchen Full of Surprises’ (directed by Marta Gryko-Sokołowska) and ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ (directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz).
Baj Theatre presented the show for the youngest audiences ‘Where’s the Baby? There’s the Baby!’ directed by Andrzej Bocian at the Tanar Festival in Sibiu, Romania.
Baj Theatre performed ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ during the 19th ANIMA Puppet Theatre Week in Olsztyn.
Baj Theatre was invited to the Białystok Puppet Theatre with the show ‘Mr Miniscule’ by Julian Tuwim (directed by Małgorzata Kazińska).
We also presented a show for the youngest children called ‘A Kitchen Full of Surprises’ directed by Marta Gryko-Sokołowska.
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2014:
Baj Theatre won the Golden Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis, which is one of the most important national awards in this sector. The Theatre was awarded for its outstanding accomplishments in children’s theatre, the high artistic level of its shows, the diversity of its activities and projects popularising the art of theatre (also for children with disabilities), and for its contribution to the development of the Polish puppet theatre over the last 85 years.
The Theatre won the ‘Nagroda Warszawskiej Rodzinki’ Award in the category ‘Culture and Entertainment’ at the Warsaw Family Days. The winner was determined through voting.
The show ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’ by Wolf Erlbruch (directed by Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz) came third at the 4th TEATRALNA KARUZELA Festival in Łódź.Spektakl Teatru Baj „Gęś, Śmierć i Tulipan” Wolfa Erlbrucha w reż. Marcina Jarnuszkiewicza zdobył trzecią nagrodę na IV Festiwalu Teatralna Karuzela w Łodzi .
The Jury of the 27th WALIZKA International Theatre Festival in Łomża awarded the director of ‘The Goose, Death and the Tulip’, Marcin Jarnuszkiewicz.
Baj Theatre performed ‘Sleep’, a show addressed to the youngest children, at the 20th Theatrical Encounters for Children organised by the Musical Theatre in Gliwice.
At the 5th MASKARADA Festival of Animated Forms in Rzeszów, we staged ‘Emil from Lönneberga’ by Astrid Lindgren (directed by Konrad Dworakowski).
At the 18th World Congress of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People ASSISTEJ in Warsaw, Baj Theatre presented two shows: ‘Sleep’ (directed by Alicja Morawska-Rubczak) and ‘The World of Garmann’ (directed by Ewa Piotrowska).
We were invited to the 21st International Festival of Theatres for Children and Young People in Hamedan, Iran, where we presented two shows dedicated to the youngest children: ‘Sleep’ (directed by Alicja Morawska-Rubczak) and ‘Where’s the Baby? There’s the Baby!’ (directed by Andrzej Bocian).
At the invitation of the local puppet theatre, we spent a week in Białystok, performing the show ‘Emil of Lönneberga’.
The Polish tour of the show ‘Robinson & Crusoe’ took place in the autumn of 2014. The tour was initiated and organised by the Goethe Institute in cooperation with movingtheatre.de and Baj Theatre. The objectives of the project included starting a dialogue, debunking stereotypes, and encouraging people to see what they have in common with others and to respect what makes others different.
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2013:
At the 1st Festival of First Performances in Wałbrzych, Filip Sande received an award in the category ‘Music’ for ‘The World of Garmann’ (directed by Ewa Piotrowska).
In 2013, ‘Emil from Lönneberga’ by Astrid Lindgren (directed by Konrad Dworakowski) earned an Honourable Mention from the Junior Jury at the 17th KORCZAK International Festival of Theatres for Children and Young People.
Baj Theatre participated in the 9th International Theatre and Culture Festival for the Youngest Children ‘Visioni di futuro, Visioni di teatro’ in Bologna with ‘Sleep’, a show addressed to the youngest audiences.
The Theatre was invited by the Białystok Puppet Theatre to perform the show ‘Sleep’.
Two of our shows, ‘Mr Miniscule’ and ‘The Magical Cut-Outs’, were recommended by the organisers of the 33rd Warsaw Theatrical Encounters.
The show for the youngest audiences ‘Sleep’ was presented in Berlin during the FRATZ Theatre Festival.
Baj Theatre was invited to the 12th International Theatre Festival (KINGFESTIVAL) in Veliky Novgorod, Russia, where we staged ‘Sleep’, a show dedicated to the youngest audiences.
After that, the same show was staged in Perm in the Ural Mountains at the invitation of the local Contemporary Art Museum.
We presented two of our shows: ‘Arsenic’ by Marcin Bartnikowski for adult audiences (directed by Marcin Bikowski) and ‘Sleep’ for the youngest audiences at the MASKARADA Festival of Animated Forms in Rzeszów.
Our show ‘Real—unreal’ by Vytaute Žilinskaite (directed by Rimas Driežis) was presented at the KON-TEKSTY International Festival of Contemporary Art for Children and Teenagers in Poznań organised by the Animation Theatre from Poznań.
Baj Theatre was invited by the Wrocław Puppet Theatre to participate in the 1st Festival of New Theatre for Children to present the show ‘Sleep’.
The show ‘Sleep’ (directed by Alicja Morawska-Rubczak) was staged at Stary Browar in Poznań as part of an event called ‘Stary Browar Nowy Taniec Dla Dzieci’ (‘Stary Browar New Dance for the Children’).
‘Sleep’, a show addressed to the youngest audiences, participated in the KinderKinder Festival in Hamburg, Germany. It was presented in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe.
In 2013, the show ‘Sleep’ was staged in Durham’s Alington House as part of the TakeOff Festival of Theatre for Children and Young People. The festival is organised by Theatre Hullabaloo, which is based in Darlington, England.
At the invitation of the local House of Polish Culture, Baj Theatre performed ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in Vilnius.
The show ‘Robinson & Crusoe’ (co-produced by Baj Theatre and movingtheatre.de in Cologne, Germany) was presented in Freies Werkstatt Theater in Cologne and in Feuchtwangen, Germany, as part of the Kreuzgang Festival.
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2012:
The Jury of the 25th WALIZKA International Theatre Festival in Łomża granted an award in the category ‘Music’ to Filip Sande for the show ‘The World of Garmann’ (directed by Ewa Piotrowska).
In 2012, Baj Theatre won the first place in ‘Słoneczniki’, the first Warsaw contest for the best development-oriented initiative for children, which was organised by the website CzasDzieci.pl. The show ‘Sleep’ received the Parents’ Award in the category ‘Music’ for the best development-oriented initiative for children aged 0–14 in Warsaw.
‘The Snow Queen’ by Hans Christian Andersen was presented at the 32nd Warsaw Theatrical Encounters and then recommended to spectators by the organisers.
‘Real—unreal’ by Vytaute Žilinskaite (directed by Rimas Driežis) was staged during the 3rd MASKARADA Festival of Animated Forms organised by the Maska Theatre in Rzeszów.
We were invited to present the show for the youngest audiences ‘Sleep’ at the TEATRALNA KARUZELA Festival organised by the Pinokio Puppet and Actor Theatre in Łódź.
The show ‘Sleep’ for the youngest audiences was staged in Poznań during the summer edition of the project ‘Sztuka Szuka Malucha’ organised by the Children’s Art Centre.
In 2012, we were invited to present our show ‘The Snow Queen’ during the 16th KORCZAK International Festival of Theatres for Children and Young People organised in Warsaw by the Polish branch of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People (ASSISTEJ).
Baj Theatre participated in the 6th Бοльшaя пepeмена International Festival of Theatres for Children in Moscow and staged the show for the youngest audiences ‘Sleep’.
The show ‘Real—unreal’ by Vytaute Žilinskaite (directed by Rimas Driežis) participated in the 16th ANIMA Puppet Theatre Week in Olsztyn, which was organised by the Olsztyn Puppet Theatre.
The show ‘Robinson & Crusoe’ was staged in Cologne, Germany.
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2011:
The Polish branch of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People ASSISTEJ granted the Certificate of High Quality and High Artistic Level to the show ‘The World of Garmann’ (directed by Ewa Piotrowska).
‘The World of Garmann’ won one of the main awards at the 5th KON-TEKSTY International Festival of Contemporary Art for Children and Teenagers in Poznań (for ‘bringing out the sensitivity of a child’).
Kamil Król received an Honourable Mention for the role of Garmann in ‘The World of Garmann’ at the 25th Polish Puppet Theatre Festival in Opole. This role was his professional debut in Baj Theatre.
Baj Theatre presented several shows during the Small Warsaw Theatrical Encounters. Three shows were recommended to spectators by the organisers: ‘The World of Garmann’, ‘The Magical Cut-Outs’ and ‘The Fern Flower’.
‘The World of Garmann’, our show based on the books by Stian Hole and directed by Ewa Piotrowska, took part in the 2nd MASKARADA Festival of Animated Forms in Rzeszów.
‘The World of Garmann’ was presented three times in Łódź during the TEATRALNA KARUZELA Festival organised by Pinokio Theatre in Łódź.
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2010:
The managing and artistic director of Baj Theatre, Ewa Piotrowska, won the Bronze Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis, an award granted by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, for her contribution to the development of the Polish puppet theatre.
Baj Theatre won the Florian, an award granted by the Office for Praga-North of the Capital City of Warsaw for promoting the district of Praga-North through its activities and accomplishments.
‘Sleeping Beauty’ (directed by Lech Chojnacki) was awarded the Certificate of High Quality and High Artistic Level by the Polish branch of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People ASSISTEJ.
In June 2010, Baj Theatre participated in the 9th KATOWICE-DZIECIOM International Puppet Theatre Festival, presenting the show ‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Katarína Aulitisova based on the fairy tale by the Grimm brothers.
Baj Theatre participated in the 14th ANIMA Puppet Theatre Week in Olsztyn and staged the show ‘Sleeping Beauty’ by Katarína Aulitisova (directed by Lech Chojnacki).
Baj Theatre was invited to present the show ‘Sleeping Beauty’ in Pinokio Puppet and Actor Theatre in Łódź.
We performed four times in Grusomhetens Teater in Oslo, Norway, with the show ‘The World of Garmann’ as part of the project ‘A kid—the theatre—the world. Above the barriers’ (‘Dziecko – teatr – świat. Ponad barierami’).
Awards and trips of Baj Theatre in 2009:
Baj Theatre participated in the 3rd Puppet Theatre Festival in Bratislava with the show ‘Winter in Moominvalley’ (directed by Aneta Puszka).
In 2009, ‘The Fern Flower’ was presented during the 13th KORCZAK International Festival of Theatres for Children and Young People organised by the Polish branch of the International Association of Theatre for Children and Young People ASSISTEJ.
Baj Theatre was invited to Vilnius by the Stanisław Moniuszko Polish Culture Centre and the Lėlė Theatre to present the show ‘The Fern Flower’.